-LRB- ArsTechnica -RRB- -- Amidst all the shouting over Tuesday 's transfer of the House of Representatives to Republican control , a distinct cry of pain could be heard for the loss of one voice -- Representative Rick Boucher -LRB- D-VA -RRB- . Republican Morgan Griffith , majority leader of Virginia 's House of Delegates , has taken Boucher 's seat .

As Chair of the influential Subcommittee on the Internet of the House Energy and Commerce Committee , Boucher 's imprint on tech issues -- particularly online privacy -- was clear as a bell . Now he is gone .

`` Tonight the Congress has lost one of its most intelligent and tech-saavy members , '' a press statement from Gigi Sohn of Public Knowledge declared late Tuesday . `` Rick Boucher has been one of the most moderate and thoughtful voices on communications and intellectual property policy . ''

A long shadow

Earlier this year , Boucher proposed a bill that would bar companies from using a cell phone 's geolocation information without a consumer 's consent . Ditto for content on race , religious beliefs , or sexual orientation . For most other information , a simple opt-out would keep data from being used by first - or third-party vendors .

Many of Boucher 's Internet policy oriented Democratic colleagues survived this election . These would include pro-net neutrality stalwart Edward Markey -LRB- D-MA -RRB- as well as Henry Waxman -LRB- D-CA -RRB- , who unsuccessfully tried to push a compromise open Internet bill through Congress last month . Other Democratic survivors include Anna Eshoo -LRB- D-CA -RRB- , who launched bills against loud television commercials and for automatic fiber conduits included in every road construction project .

Meet the replacements

But in the next Congress these Democrats will sit on the minority side of the aisle . The big Republican voices that will replace them on the House Commerce Committee have been very vocal on communications technology issues . They include former committee Chair Joe Barton -LRB- R-TX -RRB- , who ultimately refused to go along with Waxman 's net neutrality compromise , Fred Upton -LRB- R-MS -RRB- , and Cliff Stearns -LRB- R-FL -RRB- . The latter takes particular interest in mobile phone and wireless spectrum concerns .

Still , despite all the `` no compromise '' rhetoric that 's flying about , there may be some continuity in various policy areas -- particularly regarding online privacy . In early October , Barton and Markey sent a long list of tough questions to Facebook , Yahoo , Microsoft and other companies about their Web privacy policies , particularly as they related to cookies and data retention .

Barton has just released a statement in response to Facebook 's answers .

`` It 's good that Facebook was in a hurry to respond to our concerns , but the fact remains that some third-party applications were knowingly transferring personal information in direct violation of Facebook 's privacy promises to its users , '' he warned . `` I want the Internet economy to prosper , but it ca n't unless the people 's right to privacy means more than a right to hear excuses after the damage is done . In the next Congress , the Energy and Commerce Committee and our subcommittees are going to put Internet privacy policies in the crosshairs . ''

A privacy bill on the way ?

And there will have to be some concurrence with the Democrats on these hot-button questions , because they 've retained control over the Senate . That means that Senate Commerce Committee Chair Jay Rockefeller -LRB- D-WV -RRB- will remain a critical voice on Web-related concerns on that side of the aisle -- Rockefeller warned just last week that he may submit a privacy bill to Congress himself .

So while the partisan rhetoric may fly on questions like net neutrality , various forms of consensus may also surface on occasion , particularly in areas like online privacy and getting more spectrum licenses to the wireless industry . It all depends on who winds up where in the next Capitol Hill .

COPYRIGHT 2011 ARSTECHNICA.COM

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Morgan Griffith , majority leader of Virginia 's House of Delegates , took Boucher 's seat

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Sohn : `` Tonight the Congress has lost one of its most intelligent and tech-saavy members ''

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Partisan rhetoric may fly on questions like net neutrality